Weather Tidbits: Tropical vs Non-Tropical Cyclones

We’ll be discussing the difference between tropical and non-tropical cyclones in this edition of Weather Tidbits. The two cyclones have different structures. Tropical cyclones, like hurricanes, feature a warm core. At the center, subsidence, or sinking air, causes compressional warming in a mature tropical cyclone. This subsidence creates clear skies, which is why hurricanes have an eye. Around the eyewall, air is rapidly rising to compensate. The latent heat release from this intense lift and convection is what helps power the hurricane as the water vapor from the ocean waters condenses. Warm core lows are also vertically stacked. Non-tropical cyclones are cold core and feature rising air at all levels. The low is not vertically stacked, rather it slants northwest with height. It is also baroclinic and structured by thermal gradients and jet stream interactions. This is why non-topical cyclones have fronts attached to them, while tropical cyclones don’t.